


Thunderstorms and Frozen Snow

by AzarDarkstar



Series: 1Sentence [2]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Community: 1sentence, Complete, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, May-December Romance, Older Man/Younger Woman, Romance, Romantic Friendship, Written Before Kubo Jumped the Shark, forbidden relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-18
Updated: 2012-11-18
Packaged: 2017-11-19 00:16:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/566902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzarDarkstar/pseuds/AzarDarkstar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The trees behind his home are in full bloom the first time he brings her there, and it is only centuries later that he realizes she has never truly left.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thunderstorms and Frozen Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terror is the thought that she could outlive him by millennia. (Alpha Set)

**#01 - Comfort**

It ’ s surprising how at ease most people are with them; Jyuushiro supposes they’re just relieved all those rumors about Shunsui and him aren’t true.

**#02 - Kiss**

His are every bit as wonderful as he is; hers are a breath of life after an eternity of sickness.

**#03 - Soft**

His hair is as wonderful as she thought it would be.

**#04 - Pain**

He'd thought that nothing would ever hurt as much as when Kaien died, but that is only until he learns of her battle with the ninth Espada.

**#05 - Potatoes**

She cooks like a dream, and Shunsui teases that her skills in the kitchen are probably why Jyuushiro loves her so much.

**#06 - Rain**

It once made them melancholy, made them remember the worst night of their lives.

**#07 - Chocolate**

Hitsugaya can’t quite figure out why Ukitake doesn’t give him the Chappy-shaped candies anymore.

**#08 - Happiness**

Jyuushiro was always more content than anything else, but now, he has more joy than he ever imagined.

**#09 - Telephone**

The special phone Yoruichi snuck him courtesy of Kisuke is a godsend when he realizes that he can now talk to Rukia whenever he wants without those pesky official channels and fear of eavesdroppers.

**#10 - Ears**

Jyuushiro has the oddest shaped ears she has ever seen, and Rukia thinks that they are every bit as adorable as Chappy the Rabbit, much to Shunsui’s amusement.

**#11 - Name**

She whispers it like a prayer.

**#12 - Sensual**

For someone with an ice-based zanpakutou, Rukia is exceptionally physical, something that Jyuushiro comes to appreciate even more as the years pass.

**#13 - Death**

They can and do talk about his illness and know where each of them stand on the issue, and she will take whatever time they are given.

**#14 - Sex**

Their first time is not as awkward as it should have been; instead, they mesh like they ’ ve always been doing this.

**#15 - Touch**

They always brush without realizing it, even years before they are officially together; there are little gestures to the shoulder, to the hand, an unconscious caressing of reiatsu.

**#16 - Weakness**

Even before Kaien’s death, he had a soft spot for her, and that only grows into affection as he watches her struggle to piece herself back together.

**#17 - Tears**

The healers had always said he was sterile, but as she tells him the news, he can’t help that he cries.

**#18 - Speed**

She ’ s as good shunpo as she is at kidoh; Jyuushiro makes a game of chasing her through the house on lazy days.

**#19 - Wind**

A snowflake blows right into the center of his palm, and he can’t help but wonder what Rukia is doing at that very moment, if Ichigo-kun is watching out for her in the living world.

**#20 - Freedom**

Rukia never realized that love would bring such liberty or that she would experience either with her captain.

**#21 - Life**

To Jyuushiro, its far too precious to be wasted on stupidity and pointless excuses, so he is guilt free when he asks her to be his wife.

**#22 - Jealousy**

At first, her brother is beyond angry; Byakuya has only just gotten to know her and feels like his senpai is already trying to steal her away.

**#23 - Hands**

Rukia's fingers are remarkably soft, despite the sword calluses, and he can never quite figure out how she manages it.

**#24 - Taste**

Not surprisingly, he is literally sweet, most likely the result of all the candy he consumes.

**#25 - Devotion**

In all the years that Jyuushiro has lived, he ’ s never before been in love.

**#26 - Forever**

Eternity is possible with a connection like theirs, and even death is not strong enough to stand in their way.

**#27 - Blood**

Kaien’s blood on her hands is his worst memory; her blood on his is his worst nightmare.

**#28 - Sickness**

He hasn’t been seriously ill since Aizen’s betrayal, and he can’t help but think that he has her to thank for that.

**#29 - Melody**

Jyuushiro likes to hum under his breath, and it is a habit she picked up and carried with her to the living world.

**#30 - Star**

Their first official date is spent on a picnic that lasts from midday until well after sunset, and they stay out even later watching a meteor shower.

**#31 - Home**

It ’ s where there is a sweet smile and floaty, white hair waiting for her to return.

**#32 - Confusion**

Jyuushiro is just as bewildered as she is the first time he kisses her, wondering just what the hell he ’ s doing.

**#33 - Fear**

Terror is the thought that she could outlive him by millennia and the recognition that she probably will.

**#34 - Lightning/Thunder**

She stares out Ichigo’s window as the storm rages on; every flash only make her miss him even more.

**#35 - Bonds**

Some ties are stronger than life, than blood, than time itself; love weaves a connection between them that is even stronger than Byakuya’s initial anger and the captain-commander’s disappointment.

**#36 - Market**

Often, they like to discard their Shinigami robes and sneak out to the third district to walk around as a normal couple and avoid the odd looks some of the people in Seireitei still insist on giving.

**#37 - Technology**

Things in the living world are a puzzle to them both, something Ichigo and Kisuke find uproariously hilarious whenever they stop in for a visit.

**#38 - Gift**

His son is the most amazing thing Rukia ever could've given him, and it is only doubled when she brings their daughter into the world.

**#39 - Smile**

Shunsui accepts their relationship with a knowing smirk, while Ichigo merely nods and wishes her happiness; Byakuya eventually comes around after a night of heavy drinking, but out of everyone, only Renji’s seems forced.

**#40 - Innocence**

Neither are quite as innocent as they appear; Rukia lost hers to an Inuzuri man who wouldn’t take no for an answer, and Jyuushiro to the healers who told him to set all his affairs in order.

**#41 - Completion**

Their lives seemed to lack something before.

**#42 - Clouds**

They marry outside under the clear and flawless sky; Shunsui cries with joy so loudly that Byakuya is forced to use a binding spell so they can finish the ceremony.

**#43 - Sky**

Both love to sit out at night, staring up at the stars.

**#44 - Heaven**

It ’ s the sound of his children’s laughter as their mother helps them color their ridiculously bad drawings.

**#45 - Hell**

For a heart stopping instant, Jyuushiro thinks that she is dead, lost to him like so many others.

**#46 - Sun**

He ’ s as bright and cheerful as the sun, but unlike it, his touch has never burned, only bringing warmth.

**#47 - Moon**

She is the moon: white and pure and more beautiful than all the stars in the sky around her, but for him, she is always within reach.

**#48 - Waves**

They both love watching the waves crash to the shore; Jyuushiro thinks that if they ever retire from the Gotei 13, they should move to the small inland sea in the tenth district of Rukongai.

**#49 - Hair**

Only the hair on his head is white, a fact that Shunsui is only too quick to share.

**#50 - Supernova**

It all ends, not with a bang and a blaze of glory, but quietly in the bed they have shared for so long.


	2. Before the Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For all that the distance is mere inches, it mights as well be miles. (Gamma Set)

**#01 - Ring**

Rukia doesn’t really care for jewelry, but she’ll occasionally wear a simple silver ring, an anonymous gift she received one White Day.

**#02 - Hero**

Kurosaki Ichigo is his hero since he succeeded in saving Rukia when Jyuushiro would’ve failed.

**#03 - Memory**

He only has faint recollections of the last time he was with a woman or even when he last had more than a passing interest; his illness has taken far more from him than his health.

**#04 - Box**

Tucked away on a half-hidden shelf in her room, Rukia has a box containing all of her most treasured possessions; nestled among them is the sakura blossom her captain gave the first time she was denied a promotion.

**#05 - Run**

She goes as fast as she can, but even shunpo is not fast enough for her to outrun how she feels.

**#06 - Hurricane**

Rukia has never seen one, but when she first sees Sougyo no Kotowari unleashed, reiatsu all but driving her to the ground, she thinks this is exactly what it must be like.

**#07 - Wings**

He may not have a bankai like Byakuya or Hitsugaya-kun, but he can still reach her, if only he were completely willing to take the chance.

**#08 - Cold**

Winter is her domain, her kingdom, but she’s not nearly as cold or aloof as she pretends to be.

**#09 - Red**

She calmly sits with him on days he’s ill, even as she tries her best to ignore just how blood-stained his robes and haori really are.

**#10 - Drink**

Shunsui pours him another cup, silently supporting his friend as he once again agonizes over his lovely subordinate and the choice that stands before him.

**#11 - Midnight**

Rukia shares her brother’s love of nighttime strolls, and when she walks around the division, it isn’t usual for her to wander by her captain’s rooms.

**#12 - Temptation**

Temptation tingles at his fingertips as she quietly sits beside him, sipping her tea; she has only just been saved from execution and this is hardly the time or the place, but he can’t stop himself as he brushes a stray strand of hair from her face.

**#13 - View**

Jyuushiro knows that he would die a very quick death via Senbonzakura if Byakuya even had an inkling of what was going through his mind.

**#14 - Music**

He hums to himself as he gazes out his window, watching her practice kidoh and trying to fight down a tingle of jealousy when the male members of her squad do the same.

**#15 - Silk**

Her kimono is obviously expensive and in graduated shades of purple and blue, and when she softly smiles at him, he can barely withstand the urge to lean across the table and kiss her.

**#16 - Cover**

Shunsui has offered to provide an alibi, but Jyuushiro is always quick to change the subject, the temptation all too much for him.

**#17 - Promise**

He made a solemn vow to keep an eye on his fellow captain’s sister; he doesn’t think that this is quite what Byakuya had in mind.

**#18 - Dream**

Her hands slide over his skin after easing his haori off his shoulders and to the floor, and she moves to the sash at his waist, even as he backs them slowly to his futon; when he wakes with a start some indeterminable amount of time later, Shunsui smirks wickedly.

**#19 - Candle**

The fires burn lower as they sit next to each, almost but not quite touching; for all that the distance between them is mere inches, it might as well be miles.

**#20 - Talent**

Rukia is more than qualified enough to be a seated officer, and despite his promise to her brother, Jyuushiro can’t help his desire to promote her to the position she so readily deserves.

**#21 - Silence**

She quietly watches her captain, never once voicing the thoughts running rampant in her head.

**#22 - Journey**

She has gone from the worst of the slums in Rukongai to the noblest of houses in Seireitei, but through it all, Rukia never truly wavered until she’s awaiting her execution and regretting all the things she should have said but never did.

**#23 - Fire**

There is a gleam in his eyes, a burning desire that he usually keeps hidden.

**#24 - Strength**

They’re unbelievably fragile after Kaien dies, more broken than whole, and Jyuushiro supposes it’s only natural for them to draw together.

**#25 - Mask**

Rukia lets her noble persona slip for a moment, weariness evident on her face, and it takes all of his willpower not to do something wildly inappropriate as he tries to comfort her.

**#26 - Ice**

Jyuushiro has always been fascinated by snow, and he finds it fitting that he’s just as mesmerized by Rukia, the frosty princess of the Kuchiki clan.

**#27 - Fall**

He’s teetering on the edge, so close but unwilling to take the plunge, unwilling to drag her down with him.

**#28 - Forgotten**

Rukia now remembers what it's like to desire something unattainable.

**#29 - Dance**

He watches with amazement the first time he sees her zanpakutou in action, fascinated as Shirayuki and Rukia glide through the air in a whirl of white and black.

**#30 - Body**

Although he may be weak physically, her captain has a spirit stronger than anything she’s ever encountered.

**#31 - Sacred**

There’s a bond between a captain and his division; Jyuushiro fears how his subordinates would react if they knew the truth about his feelings for one of their lowest-ranked members.

**#32 - Farewells**

Jyuushiro gives her a strained but heartfelt goodbye as she steps through the gate for her first solo assignment in the living world.

**#33 - World**

“So it will continue then; this avoidance of what you feel?” Shirayuki asks as she strides up beside her, gazing out at the snowy landscape.

**#34 - Formal**

The thirteenth division has never really stood on procedure, and he often uses that as an excuse, showing far more familiarity than is strictly proper.

**#35 - Fever**

Retsu-chan is kind of enough to never mention what she overhears during his mumblings, though she often gazes at Rukia with sadness during their association meetings.

**#36 - Laugh**

Even when she first joined the division, hers was a rare but marvelous thing, and Jyuushiro frequently wonders just what he needs to do to hear it more often.

**#37 - Lies**

Jyuushiro has never been able to deceive himself, never able to hide the truth of what he feels, no matter how desperately he wants to save her from the shame of such a scandal.

**#38 - Forever**

The years pass slower than Rukia ever imagined possible when the person she wants most is always beyond her reach.

**#39 - Overwhelmed**

His reiatsu is overpowering but strangely gentle, wrapping around her protectively as the Hollows swarm toward them.

**#40 - Whisper**

“I only wish…” he murmurs, and Shunsui just nods; he knows what it is like to desire someone forbidden.

**#41 - Wait**

Rukia quietly lingers outside the door to her captain’s study, and Ukitake-taichou tenderly smiles and asks her to join him for tea.

**#42 - Talk**

It isn’t unusual for him to invite Rukia to his office; his third-seats think he’s merely checking up on her for Byakuya, but Jyuushiro does it simply to hear the sound of her voice.

**#43 - Search**

Rukia finds him by the lake at his favorite spot under a willow tree and is about to sneak away when he calls out to her with a grin.

**#44 - Hope**

“You’ve lost, my friend; dear Rukia-chan has already stolen your heart.”

**#45 - Eclipse**

The sun and moon dance around each other, just beyond reach, but every so often, they stray too close, brushing and blotting out all the stars.

**#46 - Gravity**

She is drawn to him, to his gentle smile and loving ways.

**#47 - Highway**

The road is clean but empty, and Jyuushiro travels it with ease to the Kuchiki estate, fighting the urge to shunpo there in his eagerness.

**#48 - Unknown**

Matsumoto swears that Rukia must have a secret admirer since she keeps receiving all sorts of gifts for her birthday and White Day.

**#49 - Lock**

Jyuushiro leaves the door and windows open since to do anything else would be beyond suspicious, but judging by the sympathetic gleam cast to Kiyone’s face, he realizes that his secret really isn’t that much of one anymore.

**#50 - Breathe**

He gazes into her unbelievably blue eyes and finally takes the plunge over the edge, and after a lifetime of not getting enough air, Jyuushiro is finally able to breathe.  


	3. At the End of All Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He knows to admit what he feels will probably break them both. (Epsilon Set)

**#01 - Motion**

Abarai-kun races off in one direction, Shunsui and Jyuushiro the other, but all he can think about is the girl he ’ s just left behind.

**#02 - Cool**

The breeze tugging at his robes would be refreshing were it not for the circumstances as he watches them lead her to Soukyoku’s cross in the distance.

**#03 - Young**

Rukia is a mere child to all his many years, and she certainly doesn’t deserve to die like this, reduced to nothing but ash.

**#04 - Last**

She strains to see him as she ’ s lifted into the air, searching for that final glance.

**#05 - Wrong**

Rukia doesn ’ t deserve to this, and her crimes are small things in comparison to the treachery he ’ll commit to save her.

**#06 - Gentle**

The rain is soft on Ichigo’s window as she stares out, recalling the worst night of her life and wondering if her captain will ever forgive her for it.

**#07 - One**

She ’ s just an unseated Shinigami, not even an officer, a single and small soul in the grand scheme of things, but her value to him is immeasurable.

**#08 - Thousand**

It feels more like a millennium rather than the two months it ’ s really been since she went missing in the living world, and every moment is an eternity as he waits for her to return.

**#09 - King**

Genryuusai-sensei’s word is law, but he ’ s never before wanted some much to scream at his master and demand an explanation.

**#10 - Learn**

His knows the name of her zanpakutou and all her favorite books, but he has no idea where she has gone or even when she’ll be back.

**#11 - Blur**

Her world is a haze, limited to her brother’s fingers held tightly in hers and the hand of her captain on her shoulder.

**#12 - Wait**

Time stretches on and on as his clock ticks and she ’ s still not reported in.

**#13 - Change**

He has never been a healthy man, but he has also never so badly needed to be one as he coughs and stumbles on his way to the Soukyoku Hill.

**#14 - Command**

“She’s to be executed, Jyuu,” Shunsui whispers, and the paper slips from his fingers as he rushes forward to catch his friend.

**#15 - Hold**

She i s secure in Ichigo’s grasp, and Jyuushiro has the insane urge to laugh at the comical way her feet dangle.

**#16 - Need**

As much as she has come to enjoy Ichigo’s presence, Rukia still misses the warm caress of Ukitake-taichou’s reiatsu.

**#17 - Vision**

She gapes with utter shock and amazement as the Kikouou explodes in a wash of fire and energy, and her eyes unerringly land on her captain, heart fluttering in her chest.

**#18 - Attention**

During drills, his gaze inevitably always went to her, and Kiyone understands with painful clarity that her death will destroy him.

**#19 - Soul**

So small and fragile, like the most beautiful of butterfly wings, and she turns and heads through the senkaimon alone.

**#20 - Picture**

Her fingertips are thin and pale, tracing over the teacup in her hands, and he ’ s struck speechless by the gratitude reflected on her face.

**#21 - Fool**

“I can’t just stand aside, Shunsui; I can’t just watch and do nothing!”

**#22 - Mad**

It ’ s crazy, insane, unthinkable… lusting after a man old enough to be her grandfather’s grandfather, but even as she sits in her cell, her captain is the only thing on her mind.

**#23 - Child**

Just a girl, and even if he weren’t in love with her, Jyuushiro couldn ’ t live with himself if he did nothing.

**#24 - Now**

Yoruichi comes to him in the dead of night, and he ’ d sell his soul for the chance at redemption she offers.

**#25 - Shadow**

There ’ s an unreadable cast to his face, nameless and unknowable, and the determined look his best friend gives Shunsui sends a shiver down his spine.

**#26 - Goodbye**

As the Kikouou flies towards her, Rukia is filled with a deep sense of regret, remembering a thousand lost opportunities.

**#27 - Hide**

Shunsui ’ s always been able to see through to the truth underneath, and Jyuushiro turns away so he won’t notice the temptation deep inside as he finally steps away from the bridge.

**#28 - Fortune**

He is the nice guy, always finishing last, but there ’ s something in the way she looks up at him that says it may not be so bad.

**#29 - Safe**

Rukia has to fight the urge to clutch onto him, just to hold on and never let go as she sobs out her agony of the last few weeks.

**#30 - Ghost**

When he first sees Ichigo, Jyuushiro thinks that he ’ s Kaien returned to save her, and he clings to that belief even after Byakuya says differently.

**#31 - Book**

He gazes at the page, not even really seeing it as his ears strain to hear her approach.

**#32 - Eye**

Shunsui avoids his bedridden friend’s gaze as he delivers the verdict, but he finally glances up at the strangled half-sob Jyuushiro makes.

**#33 - Never**

She wonders why he doesn't come to see her as she sits in the sixth division cell.

**#34 - Sing**

She goes through every story and song in her memory; anything is better than the suffocating silence and regrets that threaten to strangle her.

**#35 - Sudden**

It ’ s unexpected but inspiring when he calls her to his office, heart nearly bursting at the excitement she shows over her first real assignment.

**#36 - Stop**

He grabs Byakuya by the shoulder, and it takes all his self-control not to shake some sense into the boy at his easy dismissal of his sister.

**#37 - Time**

He vibrates with tension, waiting… waiting, worrying as the minutes stretch into hours and then into days without a single hint of her whereabouts.

**#38 - Wash**

His reiatsu rises in a wave as he stands next to his best friend and across from his sensei, eyes simmering with something a bit too much like hatred.

**#39 - Torn**

Rukia doesn’t know if she should be grateful or yell at him for joining Ichigo’s madness.

**#40 - History**

Kyouraku-taichou knows her captain better than anyone, and the smile he wears as they pass in the hall gives her a flutter of hope.

**#41 - Power**

He simply lacks the strength to leave his own bed, no matter how badly he wants to go see her.

**#42 - Bother**

She knows that she’s not a patient teacher, but she tries her best to emulate Ukitake-taichou as she instructs Ichigo in the not-so-fine arts of the Shinigami.

**#43 - God**

Jyuushiro has never believed in a supreme being of any kind, but he prays to every deity he can think of that he ’ ll make it in time.

**#44 - Wall**

Rukia stares at the dimness inside Ichigo’s closet, silently thinking about her captain and what he ’ s doing at that very moment.

**#45 - Naked**

Every emotion is clear on his face as he gazes at her across the bridge, longing so powerful in his eyes that Kiyone and Sentarou are forced to look away.

**#46 - Drive**

It isn ’ t because Ichigo resembles Kaien or even because he ’ s just a boy; Rukia gives him her powers because her captain would’ve done the same thing.

**#47 - Harm**

He thinks this is his punishment for standing by for so long and letting so many suffer without a word to the contrary; his only wish is that it were him in her place.

**#48 - Precious**

She is so tiny, so delicate, and he knows to admit what he feels will probably break them both.

**#49 - Hunger**

He gives Ichigo the badge as a thank you because Jyuushiro can’t find the appropriate words to describe just what the boy has really saved.

**#50 - Believe**

Her eyes are so incredibly blue as he stares up at her, and a faint smile graces her lips before Ichigo pulls her away to safety.


	4. Frozen Spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’s the first man to ever tell her that she’s beautiful. (Beta Set)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly set at the beginning and early parts of their relationship.

**#01 - Walking**

Her steps are soft and fleeting as she passes by his office, and it takes every ounce of her control not to go inside.

**#02 - Waltz**

Shunsui watches as they dance around each other, a single step forward for every one taken back.

**#03 - Wishes**

She writes his name on the slip of paper with no explanation needed.

**#04 - Wonder**

He stares with something bordering on awe as she approaches him, white and red kimono fluttering in the breeze.

**#05 - Worry**

It is just a crush, a stupid and juvenile crush, and there is a constant fear that someone will find out, or even worse, that her captain somehow knows.

**#06 - Whimsy**

The comb is the same shade as her eyes, and he buys it without second thought.

**#07 - Waste/Wasteland**

Las Noches is little more than a graveyard, but she searches frantically for even a whisper of him.

**#08 - Whiskey and Rum**

“Here,” Shunsui offers, “have another; you look like you could use it.”

**#09 - War**

It seems to go on forever, but for all that is lost, he gains so much.

**#10 - Weddings**

She is breathtaking, lovely beyond imaging, and Byakuya has to elbow him in the side to keep him from staring.

# **11 - Birthday**

He spends most of the day bleeding to death, but he awakes just before midnight with her tiny fingers squeezing his hand.

# **12 - Blessing**

“Treat her well; that is all that I ask,” his kouhai murmurs with a halfhearted sigh.

**#13 - Bias**

Her favorite color is white, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why.

**#14 - Burning**

His lips press against her neck as he slides down to sit behind her.

# **15 - Breathing**

She exhales in little pants, skin sliding against skin and fingers curling into his hair.

**#16 - Breaking**

“Please stay, just stay with me.”

**#17 - Belief**

He ’ s the first man to ever tell her that she ’ s beautiful.

**#18 - Balloon**

Her brother doesn’t know who really filled his office, but Rukia would never tell on him.

**#19 - Balcony**

He quickly reassures her that no one can see them from here.

**#20 - Bane**

Personally, she thinks that this is the only time she has ever made the Kuchiki proud.

**#21 - Quiet**

They sit in silence, fingers entwined and eyes red-rimmed.

**#22 - Quirks**

Her artistic talents leave much to be desired, and he pays more in overdue book fees than she makes in a month.

**#23 - Question**

Her reply isn’t unexpected, but his heart still beats painfully in his throat as he awaits an answer.

**#24 - Quarrel**

Even his infinite patience sometimes finds an end, but their rare arguments are thankfully short-lived.

**#25 - Quitting**

“I’m not certain that the thirteenth is the best place for me anymore,” she admits without meeting his gaze.

**#26 - Jump**

Fortune often favors the bold, but the circumspect live longer.

**#27 - Jester**

“Hey, lover boy, there goes to the girl of your dreams.”

**#28 - Jousting**

They don’t spar; he ’ s too worried that he will hurt her, and Rukia, that she will be a disappointment.

**#29 - Jewel**

Her blood is red, hair crusted and filthy, but the rise and fall of her chest is priceless.

**#30 - Just**

He ’ s never before wanted to hurt someone, to gaze into Aizen Sousuke’s face and make him bled.

**#31 - Smirk**

By the time they finally admit it, everyone else already knows.

**#32 - Sorrow**

Loss was what originally bound them together, but affection is a stronger tie than sadness.

**#33 - Stupidity**

He ’ s torn between pride and heart-stopping agony when he learns that she fought and defeated not one Espada but two.

**#34 - Serenade**

Her voice is soft and lilting with the promise of tomorrow.

**#35 - Sarcasm**

Shunsui wiggles his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, but Jyuushiro only laughs when Rukia promptly shuts the door in his face.

**#36 - Sordid**

His sensei’s eyes narrow dangerously at them, but when he turns away, Jyuushiro thinks that he might have seen a smile.

**#37 - Soliloquy**

She tells him of her time in Rukongai with a soft look, even as his heart breaks at all the words she doesn’t say.

**#38 - Sojourn**

Her favorite place in all of Soul Society is still the old tree by the river, and Rukia grins when she beats him to the top.

**#39 - Share**

This tea is his favorite and so hard to come by, but he willingly pours her another cup.

**#40 - Solitary**

His absence is a sharp jab in her heart as she lies dying in the sand.

**#41 - Nowhere**

He appears over her like an avenging god, white hair luminescent with the force of his reiatsu and lightening reflected in his gaze.

**#42 - Neutral**

Surprisingly, it ’ s Renji who takes their not-really-a-secret the hardest.

**#43 - Nuance**

Her embarrassment is obvious, but a kiss and nibble to her neck quickly make Rukia forget herself.

**#44 - Near**

She is just out of reach, just over the next ridge, but the journey there seems to take an eternity.

**#45 - Natural**

He tries to act nonchalant as she walks by but knows he’s failed when Shunsui snorts and rolls his eyes.

**#46 - Horizon**

She watches the sun rise from beside his hospital bed, smoothing the covers with the back of her hand.

**#47 - Valiant**

Her vision is already tunneling in, but she manages to see him breeze through the second Espada as though he were standing still.

**#48 - Virtuous**

This is the first time she has ever really been with anyone, and she ’ s more than mortified when he starts to undress her with slow and steady hands.

**#49 - Victory**

Byakuya’s eye twitches when she breaks the news, but he inclines his head and allows her to do as she wishes.

**#50 - Defeat**

He knows that he has already lost, but the consolation prize is more than worth it.


	5. Caught in the Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her kimono is white, hair elegantly styled, and eyes only for him. (Delta Set)

**#01 - Air**

The breeze tugs at his haori as she smiles and takes his hand, fingers twining together.

**#02 - Apples**

Her mouth is soft and familiar against his, breath impossibly sweet.

**#03 - Beginning**

Jyuushiro doesn’t know when it really started, but he swears that it will never end.

**#04 - Bugs**

The jigokuchou lands on his finger, dainty but strong, and he doesn’t even need to hear its message to know who sent it.

**#05 - Coffee**

He always wakes first, bright and cheery and ready to face the day; she still can’t figure out how he does it.  
  
 **#06 - Dark**

Night has long ago fallen, but he doesn’t move from his spot on the floor, her head cradled in his lap and his fingers stroking her hair.

**#07 - Despair**

Rukia loves him in the rain, loves that his tears flow just as freely as hers.  
  
 **#08 - Doors**

Jyuushiro pauses in the doorway, watching her throw a pillow at his best friend and grinning as she proceeds to beat him with his own fan.

**#09 - Drink**

Shunsui brings him home, and it takes both of them to put him to bed, but thankfully, she ’ s the only one he tries to kiss.  
  
 **#10 - Duty**

Byakuya gives him a glare that could scorch ice, but it eases when he realizes just how happy this man makes his sister.

**#11 - Earth**

It is not Ichigo or even Ishida-san who is the last left, and he sits with her by Orihime-chan’s bedside as they wait for her to come home.

**#12 - End**

Her kimono is white, hair elegantly styled, and eyes only for him.

**#13 - Fall**

She falls, falling, fallen… but he ’ s always there to catch her when she needs him the most.  
  
 **#14 - Fire**

Skin against skin and his name on her tongue as heat races through his veins.

**#15 - Flexible**

Shunsui’s eyebrows wiggle with implications, but Jyuushiro just smirks.

**#16 - Flying**

He soars, legs wrapped around his waist and her mouth on his.

**#17 - Food**

He has trouble looking at strawberries and cream the same way afterwards.

**#18 - Foot**

Ichigo just shakes his head and reaches under the table to redirect the toes on his calf to the person next to him.  
  
 **#19 - Grave**

They talk about it more than most couples, but he only ever sees determination on her face.  
  
 **#20 - Green**

That particular shade is magnificent on him but even better as she takes it off.

**#21 - Head**

“I know that look,” Shunsui comments, “and you always were a stubborn man once you have an idea stuck in your mind.”  
  
 **#22 - Hollow**

She wonders sometimes, thinks about what he would do if she doesn’t make it home one day.  
  
 **#23 - Honor**

“You will ask Rukia what she wants and will accept that answer and no other,” Byakuya commands with his strictest tone.

**#24 - Hope**

They don’t name him Kaien, but both swear that they can see the same fire burning behind his eyes.

**#25 - Light**

He knows that gleam, that cast to her face, and the way her lips pull as she gazes at him.  
  
 **#26 - Lost**

One glance is enough to make her forget herself.

**#27 - Metal**

There ’ s a sharp clink as her sword meets his, and he is gracious enough to give her time to recover.

**#28 - New**

Her little hands and fingers are so incredibly tiny, and he stares at her with awe as his wife gentle soothes the bundle in her arms.  
  
 **#29 - Old**

Genryuusai-sensei gives him a look, but Jyuushiro can see the amusement tugging at his mouth.

**#30 - Peace**

He just lies next to her, watching the rise and fall of her chest.

**#31 - Poison**

The tea is clearly dangerous, but he still drinks what his daughter offers him, brow lifting as his wife laughs behind her hand.

**#32 - Pretty**

The other women glare, but Rukia smiles in return, fingers naughtily toying with the edge of his haori.  
  
 **#33 – Rain**

Their oldest is born during a storm, her cries intermixed with the thunder and his heart all but bursting from his chest.

**#34 - Regret**

It all starts when she suggests that Shunsui might need a wife and only goes downhill from there.  
  
 **#35 - Roses**

He has never once brought her flowers, instead choosing to plant a garden.  
  
 **#36 - Secret**

“Go on,” Ichigo tells her, knowing smile and all, “I can handle it for a day.”  
  
 **#37 - Snakes**

“Absolutely not,” Rukia states with one hand on her hip, “and I don’t care how much Shunsui begs.”

**#38 - Snow**

He plays with the children, too much like one himself, and she notices him building a fort and launching projectiles at the unsuspecting.  
  
 **#39 - Solid**

Renji is a captain in his own rights now but still very much a boy at heart, and she ’ s glad when he is finally able to move on.

**#40 - Spring**

She feels the first kick just after the snows melt, and his face reflects her wonder.

**#41 - Stable**

They sit together at her brother’s wedding, knowing that their time will be soon enough.  
  
 **#42 - Strange**

Their youngest son is a bit too much like Shunsui for either one of them to be comfortable.

**#43 - Summer**

He thinks that she ’ s the most beautiful then, lying in the soft grasses with her belly so swollen and full of life.

**#44 - Taboo**

After the war with Aizen, like with so many other the rules, Yamamoto-soutaichou just doesn’t bother to enforce it.

**#45 - Ugly**

His hands are stained red, the blood not his, but she doesn’t hesitate to reach for him.

**#46 - War**

The Kuchiki are thrilled to be rid of her, and for once, she doesn’t fight to stay.  
  
 **#47 - Water**

The bath she draws is warm, and he blushes as she slips in behind him.

**#48 - Welcome**

She stands on his porch, gaze hopeful, and he invites her in without question.  
  
 **#49 - Winter**

It is still his favorite time of year, even though he doesn’t need an excuse anymore to curl in closer.

**#50 - Wood**

The trees behind his home are in full bloom the first time he brings her there, and it is only centuries later that he realizes she has never truly left.


End file.
